Safaricom, Kenya's biggest mobile network operator, has signed on to Prince William's United for Wildlife taskforce, a coalition that uses financial tracking—including cryptocurrency tracing—to disrupt the illegal wildlife trade. The group, which already includes Chainalysis and other major technology, payments, and crypto companies, plans to deploy artificial intelligence to hunt payments linked to poaching and trafficking.
The $23 billion problem
The illegal wildlife trade is valued at $23 billion annually, making it one of the largest illicit markets in the world. The United for Wildlife taskforce, founded by Prince William's Royal Foundation, has long focused on squeezing the financial networks that enable poaching. Adding a telecom operator with millions of mobile-money users gives the coalition access to a different kind of transaction data.
Why crypto tracing matters
Wildlife traffickers increasingly use cryptocurrencies to move money because transactions can cross borders quickly and often bypass traditional banking oversight. Chainalysis, the blockchain analytics firm already in the coalition, specializes in tracking those flows. The taskforce's new AI component aims to flag suspicious payment patterns across multiple platforms—not just crypto, but also mobile money and bank transfers.
Safaricom's role
Safaricom brings a massive user base in East Africa, a region where poaching and transit routes overlap. The company hasn't detailed exactly what data it will share or how its systems will integrate with the AI tool. The taskforce said the partnership is part of a broader push to bring telecom and payments companies into the fight, since traffickers often move cash through legitimate mobile wallets.
The coalition's next step is to test the AI model on real transaction data from member companies. No timeline has been set for a public rollout, but the group expects initial results by the end of 2026.
